Falls the Shadow
by anonymous celebrity
Summary: As their present lives intermingle with a history they know nothing about, the Gundam pilots and a Preventers Investigations Expert are facing an enemy unlike any other they've fought...
1. The Hollow Men

_Quick Disclaimer: I don't own this poem.  I didn't write this poem.   I just alluded to it.  Pay particular attention to the fifth movement, and you'll see why…_

**The Hollow Men**

**T.S. Eliot  (1888-1965)**

**I  
  
We are the hollow men  
We are the stuffed men  
Leaning together  
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!  
Our dried voices, when  
We whisper together  
Are quiet and meaningless  
As wind in dry grass  
Or rats' feet over broken glass  
In our dry cellar  
  
Shape without form, shade without colour,  
Paralysed force, gesture without motion;  
  
Those who have crossed  
With direct eyes, to death's other Kingdom  
Remember us--if at all--not as lost  
Violent souls, but only  
As the hollow men  
The stuffed men.  
  
**

**II  
  
Eyes I dare not meet in dreams  
In death's dream kingdom  
These do not appear:  
There, the eyes are   
Sunlight on a broken column  
There, is a tree swinging  
And voices are  
In the wind's singing  
More distant and more solemn  
Than a fading star.  
  
Let me be no nearer  
In death's dream kingdom  
Let me also wear  
Such deliberate disguises  
Rat's coat, crowskin, crossed staves  
In a field  
Behaving as the wind behaves  
No nearer--  
  
Not that final meeting  
In the twilight kingdom  
  
**

**III  
  
This is the dead land  
This is cactus land  
Here the stone images  
Are raised, here they receive  
The supplication of a dead man's hand  
Under the twinkle of a fading star.  
  
Is it like this  
In death's other kingdom  
Waking alone  
At the hour when we are  
Trembling with tenderness  
Lips that would kiss  
Form prayers to broken stone.  
  
**

**IV  
  
The eyes are not here  
There are no eyes here  
In this valley of dying stars  
In this hollow valley  
This broken jaw of our lost kingdoms  
  
In this last of meeting places  
We grope together  
and avoid speech  
Gathered on this beach of the tumid river  
  
Sightless, unless  
The eyes reappear  
As the perpetual star  
Multifoliate rose  
Of death's twilight kingdom  
The hope only  
Of empty men.  
  
**

**V  
  
Here we go round the prickly pear  
Prickly pear prickly pear  
Here we go round the prickly pear  
At five o'clock in the morning.  
  
Between the idea   
And the reality  
Between the motion  
And the act  
Falls the Shadow  
  
**

_For Thine is the Kingdom  
  
Between the conception  
And the creation  
Between the emotion  
And the response  
Falls the Shadow  
  
_

_Life is very long  
  
Between the desire  
And the spasm  
Between the potency  
and the existence  
Between the essence  
And the descent  
Falls the Shadow  
  
_

_For Thine is the Kingdom  
  
For thine is  
Life is  
For Thine is the  
  
  
_

_This is the way the world ends  
This is the way the world ends  
This is the way the world ends  
Not with a bang but a whimper_


	2. Introduction

_ (Anastasia, anonymous celebrity's muse, walks in)_

Anastasia:  Since this is not a Humorous Fanfiction, I'm not allowed to stay very long.  Just popping in, saying hi, and setting up the boring stuff: disclaimers and such.  _(she grabs a bowl of popcorn and sits in an area outside of the story)  Run info!_

_(Q-chan and Quatre Kitty wave)_

DISCLAIMER:  I don't own Gundam Wing or the characters therein (sniff).  They belong to a bunch of Japanese people that I hope won't sue me (smiles and waves).  However, Diana Simen, the Sulegna, and all other original characters in this story are mine, and I intend to keep them. =P  Keeping an iron hold would be hypocritical (what am I doing with our beloved Gundam characters here?...  stealing them), but please don't take them, okay? 

WARNINGS:  self-inflicted injury, supernatural stuff, violence/blood and gore, language, rape

PRONOUNCIATION:  Please forgive my ghetto phonetics guide...  Simen (SIGH-men), Sulegna (soo-LEG-nah), Wodahs (WOE-dahs), Leine (LANE), Tsohg (SOHG), Kaivér (kie-VEHR), Rusaert (roo-SAYERT) Xaniel (ZAN-iel), Tirips (TEE-rips), Naccel (nah-SELL)

**I N T R O D U C T I O N**

_He knelt there, holding the knife in his hands, waiting for the unseen voice to continue its instructions.  His slight body seemed smaller in the vastness of the conference room, and blond hair cascaded over his cloudy blue eyes._

_Without knowing, he knew what to do._

_With sudden, impulsive force, he jammed the knife into his throat, then winced as he removed it just as sharply.  He fell forward, and watched the crimson pour from the wound as the voice spoke to him again._

_'You'll be found this way and survive… we will crown you Wodahs yet.'_

_And, softly, from his hidden consciousness, he asked:_

_'Why?'_

* * * * * * * * * *

Diana Simen flew up in her bed, hunching forward and holding her throat in imaginary pain.  She remained frozen in that position for several minutes, trembling violently in a cold sweat.  Slowly, painfully, she pried her hands away and gaped at them, almost expecting to see blood.

She had never had a dream that felt so real.

Still shaking like a leaf, she scrambled out from beneath the covers and went into the bathroom, inspecting her image in the mirror.  Dark eyes peered back at her through the tangled brown hair that fell past her shoulders.  "You're better than this, you know," she scolded.  "You're really letting your imagination get away with you, making up scenarios for that Winner case because he remembers jack squat.  Don't be such a moron."

That said, she washed her face and went back to bed, the dream all but forgotten.


	3. Chapter One

**C H A P T E R 1**

Quatre Winner sat in the hospital bed, fiddling idly with the morphine button but not pressing it.  He figured he'd abused the painkillers enough in the past 36 hours, and didn't want to push his limits.  Sighing, he tossed the button aside and fell back into the pillow.  Pain screamed in his neck from the blow, and he slowly rolled onto his right side to relieve pressure from his left.  For a wound that he didn't remember getting, it hurt like hell.

Defeated and in a great deal of pain, Quatre's hand fumbled for the button that he had just thrown.  Instead, Quatre felt another hand resting on the small table beside the bed.  His gaze flew up to find a figure dressed in black, completely covered from head to toe.  The person wore so many layers that Quatre couldn't tell the gender beneath the dark folds of clothing.

The dark stranger, having gotten Quatre's attention, leaned over and handed the stunned blond a letter.  Then the silhouette pressed its lips to Quatre's forehead, and the shadows from the mysterious being spread into Quatre's mind…

Azure eyes shot open as Quatre realized that he had been knocked out.  The first thing he did was check his body over for more mysterious wounds.  After a few frantic seconds of search, he was relieved to find none.  Instead, he found a handwritten note in his hands, the ink a reddish-brown color that reminded Quatre of drying blood.  Dismissing the thought, he read the note softly to himself.

" _'To__ the One Tainted with Death…' "_

Quatre put the letter down.  He'd read enough.

* * * * * * * * * *

Diana leaned back in her chair, teeter-tottering on the back two legs.  She had stayed past her shift to review this one case that had been bothering her since she was placed in charge of it.  Not that lounging in her office staring at the information in front of her was going to make the facts clear, but it sure beat waking up in a cold sweat at all hours of the night.

"47649," she muttered, reading the files over.  "How the Hell does someone slit his own throat and not remember?"  Papers rustled as she turned the pages.  "It could be a really… no, _extremely well-planned murder and cover-up that didn't go through, but that doesn't add up.  The clues point to suicide, but that doesn't seem to add up, either.  No cause, no forewarning, no note… that's the major one right there… and those dreams—"_

"Do you always sit in your office talking to yourself after your shift?"

Diana's eyes slowly came up from the file and its contents, meeting the Chinese man in front of her.  "Hello to you, too, Wu Fei."

Chang Wu Fei looked down at Diana, his near-black eyes giving a hint of contempt over her posture, causing her to lean forward so her chair fell back onto all four legs.  Satisfied, Wu Fei continued.  "What case requires so much of your time?"

"Aren't we filled with questions today?  For your information, it doesn't _require my time.  It's just… got me thinking, that's all," Diana grumbled, glaring slightly at her fellow Preventer.  The two of them didn't get along well.  "Aren't you __on shift?  Shouldn't you be out stopping some mess or another?"_

"No.  I just got off.  Now answer my question."  Wu Fei chose to ignore the stab at his position, especially since the two held equal positions in their respective departments.

Diana sighed.  Wu Fei wasn't leaving without an answer.  "Fine, fine.  47649… you know, the one involving your fellow Former-Gundam-Pilot.  You were questioned about it, weren't you?"

"Winner?  Yes, I was."

"You know, he has a first name."  Wu Fei didn't acknowledge her statement, leaving Diana no choice but to continue.  "Officially, it's attempted suicide.  It would be case-closed, but Quatre's testimony leaves a hole…"

"And that would be?"

"You _are asking a lot of questions today, Wu Fei, especially for you.  And, since 47649 hasn't left this department, I'm not authorized to tell you."  She paused a minute to absorb Wu Fei's glare.  "However, since he's your comrade and all, I'll tell you._

"Officially, it's attempted suicide.  Like I said, it would be case-closed, but…"  Diana took another pause to guarantee Wu Fei's complete attention.  "Quatre doesn't remember a thing."

"He remembers nothing at all?"

"What did I just say?"  Diana snapped.  "Sometimes, Wu Fei, you can be…"

"I'm not looking for a fight.  Continue."

"That's a first… anyway, even though I should just write his 'I don't remember story' up as him not wanting to admit what he did, I believe him.  I mean, I've heard the story before, but he seemed to _really not know what was going on…  This is going to sound nuts, but I… I don't think he had control of himself.  I do believe that he stabbed himself, there's very little doubt about that, but I think that something… I don't know, had its hold on him, like hypnosis or something.  It's out there, and I'd be lying if I told you that I was completely comfortable with the idea, but—"_

"I agree."

"—it's the only one I can—you what?"

"Learn to pay attention and react faster."  Wu Fei took a seat across from Diana.  "If Winner was going to commit suicide, he would have done it long ago.  And if by some chance his life has gotten worse and he'd attempt it, he wouldn't lie about it.  Something's definitely not right."

Pleasantly surprised, Diana's eyes leveled with Wu Fei's.  "Exactly.  You wouldn't happen to have any leads, would you?"

Her Chinese coworker stood.  "No.  I haven't really talked with Winner in ages.  If I find anything, I'll let you know.  Just remember, investigation is your area of expertise, not mine."  With that, Wu Fei exited the office.

Diana watched him go, then shook her head.  "At least _someone agrees with me."  Her superiors sure hadn't; they called her theory 'ludicrous' and 'far-fetched.'  She had expected a reaction of the same sort from Wu Fei._

Diana slumped back into her original posture.  "Investigation's my area of expertise," she mumbled to herself, contemplating her next move.  "Then I guess I'd better hop to it.  I have a few more things I want Quatre to tell me.  I'll do that tomorrow morning."  She stood and stretched.  "Tonight, I shower and sleep."

Diana left her office behind her, making sure the light was off and the door locked.  She didn't like to take chances.


	4. Chapter Two

****

C H A P T E R 2

"Hold still. If you don't squirm, it won't hurt so much." The nurse applied more antibiotics to the wound on Quatre's neck.

Her statement, naturally, was a lie. He hadn't moved an inch during the whole process and it still caused waves of pain to pulse through his throat. Quatre hated when the bandages had to be changed, since that meant that the doctor would examine the wound, otherwise known as looking at it, poking it, and flushing it out. Then a nurse would tend to his neck with antibiotic creams and sprays, then wrap it up with a fresh bandage. This process happened often, since wounds to the neck were considered "problematic," and every single time it smarted.

Not that he could do anything about it. It had to be done, and Quatre had to admit that his neck was healing quite well, as far as he could tell. Besides, it wasn't the worst the hospital had thrown at him in the name of healing. That honor went to the shrink, who insisted that Quatre had an ulterior motive for forgetting what had happened and prescribed various antidepressants that the hospital would inevitably force him to take. No one seemed to understand that Quatre didn't want to die.

Quatre's venting thoughts were interrupted with a "There. All done." He turned slightly to face the nurse, careful not to strain his neck.

"Thank you." After all, it wasn't her fault that he was in pain.

The nurse gathered the first-aid supplies together and began to leave the room. At the door, however, she stopped and turned back. "Oh, yeah. Someone wishes to see you. Are you up to it?"

Being a supposed 'suicide' victim, Quatre had to approve all visitors, and, even if he didn't consider himself suicidal, he was glad to have the option. At times he had been too frustrated, confused, or—he'd admit it—depressed to see anyone, especially those closest to him. At different times, he'd turned away Trowa, Dorothy, and a couple of Maganacs; they returned some time thereafter when Quatre felt better and were allowed in. Others, such as Duo and Rasid, were lucky enough to get in on the first try. Funny, how he had begun to ride the emotional rollercoaster only _after_ receiving treatment for it.

Today, he was just sore.

"Who is it?"

The nurse looked down at her clipboard. "Diana Simen. She's from the Preventers and talked to you before. Do you remember?"

_'Preventers?'_ The last thing Quatre wanted to do was talk with someone else about how he 'felt,' but he knew better than to say no. "Yes, I remember. I'll see her."

The nurse left, and soon a woman about Quatre's age came and took a seat next to his bed. "Hey, how are you feeling?"

"Fine." 

Diana caught hint of exasperation in his voice. "Listen, I'm not here to condemn you. I wanted to see if you were any better, and I have a couple more questions. You were pretty affected when I last talked with you. And I'm not just talking about the painkillers; you took the news pretty hard. Then again, you don't usually wake up in a hospital and sit in confusion until a Preventer tells you that you're suspected of attempting suicide. I'd have taken it hard, too."

Quatre looked at her, hints of confusion crossing his face. "It sounds like you believe my story."

"Well, I…" Diana sighed, looked down at her notes, then straight into Quatre's eyes. "Listen, I know you went through some hard times during the war. I understand that. You've come to deal with your pain, loss, and guilt, and I understand that, too. No matter how deep I dig—and trust me, I've dug through a couple of planets—I can't find any warnings of suicide. At all. That's rare, Quatre. Usually there's _something_, no matter how minute, and usually I can locate it. You left nothing. That reason alone redeems you from 'suicide' status in my mind."

Quatre wanted to kiss her.

"Don't get me wrong, Quatre. I still say you _physically_ did it," Diana added, sensing Quatre's relief. "There's no evidence to redeem you from that, and that's the part of this case that's driving me up a wall."

"I don't understand."

Diana had a feeling he wouldn't. "I think that maybe, just maybe, you were hypnotized into doing it."

After a small eternity of dead silence, Quatre reacted. He reached around Diana into the drawer next to his bed and pulled out a small box. From it, he produced a letter. "Never hypnotized, as far as I know, but you should see this." He handed the letter to her. "Some person in black gave this to me. He—or she, I couldn't tell—handed me this note, kissed my forehead, and then I passed out. I haven't read it."

Diana looked the letter over in her hands, touched and slightly confused that he trusted her with it. "You haven't told anyone else?"

"Not a word."

_'So he hasn't even told those closest to him. Why trust me? …Must be because I believe him'_ "May I read it?" Quatre nodded his approval, and Diana opened it and began to read it aloud. It was Quatre's letter, and he deserved to hear it. " _'To the One Tainted with Death.'_ I take it that's you, Quatre. No wonder you stopped reading." Diana took a breath, then continued:

" _'We are Your humble servants, the Sulegna. You know nothing of us, but You'll come to be intimate with us in time. After all, You will lead us._

" _'It was our influence that caused You to injure Yourself. To understand that, You must understand that our Divine Leader, Wodahs, died in such a way. For You to follow Him, You must start at His end. Forgive the pain, Sire. We imagine You have felt it before._

" _'Our influence is Yours. Do not try to alter Your fate, Master. It is Yours beyond control.'_

"Signed, _'the Order of Wodahs, the Sulegna.'_ " Her eyes slowly peered over the paper, finding Quatre looking as uncomfortable about the contents of the letter as she felt. Beyond Quatre, she thought she saw a shadow, but it disappeared after she blinked. Fighting the cold chill that ran down her spine, she turned back to Quatre. "They… address you as though they were addressing God… they do that for this Wodahs guy, too. I wonder who he is… or was, I guess…"

Quatre sat in silence, pondering the situation while Diana babbled, thinking aloud. Some idea wanted to click in his head, but something stopped the connection from happening. For some reason, his mind had clouded up.

"…it's just damn creepy," Diana finished, cutting into Quatre's attempts at logical thought. She looked him over, noticing something different in his posture and aura. "What's wrong?"

Quatre looked up at Diana and gave her his best attempt at a smile, hoping that she would either buy it or decide to leave well enough alone. "I… just thinking, that's all."

The problem was, he couldn't.


	5. Chapter Three

****

C H A P T E R 3

__

For Scott L., who helped me with the idea for this chapter. He gave me the hospital scene; I took it and ran with it. If you're reading, thank you! 

Diana wanted to bounce her head off the wall. In the three days since she had last spoken with Quatre, she had worked day and night to find out all she could about the shady order and its former leader. Despite her efforts, she still had nothing to work with.

In the meantime, Quatre had drawn in, and that fact frightened Diana to no end. He rarely talked to the doctors and had refused all visitors since Diana. Out of alarm the hospital had moved him into a different ward to keep a keener eye on him—at least, according to the nurse she had paid to give her the information. If Lady Une ever got wind of the exchange of favors, Diana would surely face suspension, but sometimes investigation, even for a law-enforcing unit like the Preventers, required unorthodox methods.

Sighing, Diana stared blankly at the stacks of papers in front of her, all filled with useless information. "No leads, and things just keep getting worse and worse. There must be _something_ I can do... anything…" Her eyes lit up with a sudden idea. "I can get him out of there. It's not a safe situation for him, with all the antidepressants they're shoving down his throat."

Diana crawled halfway across the coffee table and grabbed some papers on the far end. Half-maneuvering, half-falling into her former position, she looked them over after silently resolving to clean up as soon as possible. " 'Quatre R. Winner… Room 47-BL.' I'm on it." With that, she stood and left her tiny apartment behind her, making sure to lock the door.

* * * * * * * * * *

Sneaking into the hospital turned out to be fairly easy. Although pleased with her ingenuity, Diana had to admit that she didn't feel comfortable with the lack of effort required to enter the ward—specifically marked with the words 'Hospital Personnel Only.' However, no guards blocked the entrance, and everyone Diana passed seemed to accept the white lab coat she wore as valid proof of a doctor's identity. Shaking her head, she arrived at the door marked '47-BL.' Diana picked up the clipboard from the pocket outside of the door and skimmed over the information, relieved that it sported Quatre's name. Giving up on trying to make sense of the patient's vital signs, she put it back and pulled the door handle.

Pleased to find the door unlocked, Diana ventured inside. Her eyes scanned the room from left to right, then back again. The room looked as though it belonged to the Intensive Care Ward with all its equipment and machinery, but somehow carried the air of a morgue. To make the dismal scene worse, she could hear a soft blip tracking the beating of Quatre's heart. A knot formed in the pit of Diana's stomach, and she tried to breathe against the sudden weight in her chest. '_Why is Quatre here? Has he gotten that much worse?_'

In careful steps, Diana advanced towards the bed. She could make out the form of a resting body behind the light in the surrounding drape. Time seemed to slow down as her arm reached out and pulled the curtain aside, her figure still struggling for every nervous breath. Consciousness shifted back into real time when her eyes focused on the image before her.

Quatre, barely breathing.

"Holy shit," Diana whispered, leaning down to get a closer look. "Is that really you, Quatre?" In order to get a better view, she reached over and brushed a lock of hair out of Quatre's face. The instant her hand met with his forehead, Quatre shot up, knocking Diana back. Out of reflex, her hand flew to her chest as though it would help her regain breath and slow the acceleration of her heart. She glowered at Quatre.

"Holy shit! Quatre, are you trying to kill me?" This time, the expletive was just short of a scream.

Quatre's gaze, uncharacteristically wild and blank, slowly transferred its focus from nowhere particular onto Diana. She could scarcely see the dark pupils in the sea of maddening blue. He opened his mouth to speak, closed it, then forced words out into void around them both. "Leine."

"What?!"

"That's… your name, isn't it?" As Quatre spoke, the words seemed to come easier, but Diana still had no clue what he was talking about.

No longer bothering to retain any pride in her demeanor, Diana used the standoff as an opportunity to scan Quatre over. He gave the impression of a true madman, from his untamed eyes to his irregular panting. Diana swallowed hard, only breathing when her chest ached from the lack of air. Her 'fight or flight' instinct was at the breaking point, only needing some stimulus to set it off. "Who, Quatre? I'm not this Leine person… who is she?"

"Wodahs's wife."

Diana had to grab a chair to keep from crashing to the floor. The name 'Wodahs' hit her like a brick wall. The silence threatened to swallow she and Quatre both until she could bring herself to words. "Quatre?" she whispered hoarsely. "I'm not Wodahs's wife. I'm Diana, remember?" The Preventer remained cautious with her words, not wanting to appear hostile and be considered a threat by Quatre. Suddenly, a flicker of understanding passed through her mind. "Oh my God… Wodahs, he's… in your head, isn't he?"

Hardly thinking about it, Diana advanced toward Quatre and smacked him across the face. The Arabian just sat there, so Diana hit him again. Again, she got no response, and, becoming desperate, she grabbed his shoulders and shook him violently. "Quatre Raberba Winner, I know _you_ can hear me… Not Wodahs, not the Sulegna, _you_. Wake up… Come on, snap out of it… QUATRE! DAMMIT, LISTEN TO ME!!" She gave Quatre one last bone-rattling shake.

Diana heard a soft click directly behind her head. "You will not treat Him so roughly, woman," a man's voice growled. "He is to be treated with respect. The Sulegna shall see it so." A firm hand grabbed her shoulder and whipped her around. She found herself face-to-face with a black-clad figure, complete with cruel black eyes peering out from beneath the mask he wore. He held the gun between her eyes. "Apologize, woman. Now."

"I didn't mean any harm here." Diana raised her hands in surrender, not eager to die. "I just want to—"

"You were commanded to apologize," another male voice barked. Diana turned to realize that the Sulegna with the gun had a companion with him. From beneath the dark folds of clothing, a pair of green eyes counteracted the severe tones of his orders. "I suggest that you get to it."

"Can I… look at him when I apologize, at least? It's only polite." Diana figured she'd use the chance to run. Even if she was shot, it wouldn't be at point-blank range.

Unfortunately, they saw through her plan. "Trickery will get you nowhere," the gun-slinging Sulegna snarled. "We do not approve of such techniques." 

"Careful," the other warned. "He _did_ call her 'Leine' before."

"Quiet, you! You're here as a tag-along, nothing else!" The Sulegna turned on his partner, lowering the gun.

Diana saw her chance. She shoved past the two Sulegna and bolted towards the door. Unfortunately for her, the emerald-eyed Sulegna recovered quickly from the blow. He caught up with her easily and, using his left arm, grabbed her around the waist from behind. Wrapping his right arm over her shoulder, he hissed in her ear. "You're making this harder than it needs to be."

"Harder than—?"

The other Sulegna circled around to face Diana. "So, this is the girl with Leine, eh? Thought she was supposed to be some kind of pathetic slut…"

"I am _not _a slut, you asshole! Who the hell do you think you—?" The dark-eyed Sulegna cracked his hand across Diana's face, cutting her off.

"I don't care _who_ you are, woman! I will not stand to your tongue." He looked from Diana to his accomplice. "Kill her. There's no way that she's the right girl."

The accomplice pulled Diana away from the other Sulegna, squeezing her protectively. Diana, almost out of instinct, reached up to hold onto his right arm, wondering why he, of all people, wanted her safe. "I'll clear it with Wodahs. What he says, I'll do."

"Fine. Just let her go so I can keep an eye on her."

That said, Diana was released and held at gunpoint. Her gaze flitted between the Sulegna duo, more often landing upon the Sulegna next to Quatre's bed. She noticed that, as he spoke with Quatre, he slowly injected something into the Arabian's arm. Diana looked at the other Sulegna and realized that he didn't know what his partner had done. Suddenly, she felt a tug on her arm. A blinding flash followed.

"Run."

Diana didn't care where the order came from; she took off. In the confusion, she managed to get out of the room in one piece, gunshots following at close range. Something landed a hit on her shoulder, but upon realizing it wasn't lead, Diana chose to ignore it and keep pushing.

The hospital fell into instant chaos. Diana ran through the halls screaming for all to clear the way, and the hospital staff did its best to oblige. Anyone who couldn't move fast enough was shoved to the side. After an infinity of twists and turns, Diana found a door. She plowed right through, thankful that it swung half-open when she reached it. Before she knew what was happening, Diana was herded into a small car. She looked into the rear-view mirror and saw Quatre sprawled across the back seat. Then she watched as someone climbed into the driver's seat; the green-eyed Sulegna from before.

He had pulled back his hood, revealing brown hair that mostly fell into his face. Evidently used to the obstruction to his vision, he reached over and started the car. Diana, confused and afraid, cleared her throat and asked, "Are you going to give me a name?" Her companion didn't respond. "If you're helping me, I'd like to thank you. If you're abducting me… well, I think I deserve to know who's doing it." This time, though his body remained face-forward, his eyes looked in her direction.

"It's Trowa." 

His foot hit the accelerator.


	6. Chapter Four

****

C H A P T E R 4

During the entire ride, Diana divided her time between gazing blankly out the window and shooting nervous glances toward Trowa, who, oblivious to the anxious brunette beside him, drove the car in absolute silence. Every now and again, she'd peek at Quatre through the rear-view mirror to make sure he was all right. '_What's going to happen to us now…?_'

While in the midst of her tense routine, Diana felt the car stop. "We're here," Trowa announced, removing the key from the ignition. He reached for the door handle.

Diana pounded the lock button before Trowa could exit the vehicle, silently thanking whoever invented power door locks. Finding the nerve as well as the opportunity, Diana demanded, "You're not leaving until you tell me what's going on. Why are we in the middle of the woods?"

"It's a good hiding place."

"From who?"

"That would appear obvious."

Diana huffed. "Fine, smart-ass. Then tell me what you were doing back at the hospital."

Trowa looked Diana over and decided she was serious. "You have a right to know." He sat back into his seat. "I was getting Quatre out of there."

"I was doing that too, you know."

"True, but who had the gun to her head?"

Diana wanted to strangle Trowa. "Dammit, I'm not in the mood! Or do you not give a shit that I almost _died_ back there?!…"

"Would I have protected you if I didn't?"

"I… I guess not." An uncomfortable silence built around the two as they stared at each other, not knowing what to say. Trowa moved first, unlocking the doors and getting out of the car.

Diana wasn't about to let him go; she still had too many questions for him to answer. She followed him out of the car, circling around the front so she could face him directly. "Wait a minute. You still haven't told me what's going on. Who are the Sulegna, and why are they after Quatre?"

Trowa turned around and walked toward the trunk, opening it and unloading camping equipment as he spoke. "The Sulegna call themselves the Order of Wodahs, and rightly so; Wodahs was the man who founded them. Essentially, it's a cult bent on resurrecting its former leader. They mean to do so through Quatre. I don't know why."

Diana walked over to the back of the car. "And Leine? Who's she?"

"Wodahs's wife. That's all I know about her." Trowa stopped unpacking and looked straight at Diana, making deliberate eye contact. "You need to be careful. They mean to resurrect Wodahs's entire court, and, since Quatre called you Leine before, they'll likely come after you."

"How… how do you know all this?"

"I joined."

"No… how did you know to join? I mean, the Sulegna and all…"

"When I visited Quatre in the hospital, I knew something was amiss. Knowing that the Preventers were investigating the case, I spoke with Wu Fei Chang. He gave me your name. I learned of the Sulegna from your case files. 47649, wasn't it?" 

"You went through my case files?" Trowa nodded cooly. "That's… illegal!"

"I've done worse, but that's beside the point. The Sulegna are more widespread than either of us would like to think. A doctor affiliated with the order had his room changed to a ward that doesn't exist, and there Sulegna have been watching him day and night since. You're lucky you showed up during my shift, or you wouldn't have gotten out of there."

Diana smiled a little. "I guess I am."

"What happened?" The opening of a car door and the voice spooked Diana and she whipped around. Quatre stood there, groggily holding his head. "My head hurts, my stomach's churning, and the last thing I remember clearly is talking with Diana over that letter. I don't enjoy blanking out while something important happens." He looked at Diana and Trowa, each in turn. "How did we get all the way out here?"

Diana and Trowa looked at one another, wondering where to start.

* * * * * * * * * *

"Oh, no no no, get back over here… Oh, dammit." Diana had lost her third hot dog into the fire, and had again failed to scrape it out before it turned into cinders. "I hate this. The dirt, the bugs, the lack of dinner…"

"You favor order, don't you?" Trowa cut in.

"Yes," Diana answered through gritted teeth, fighting with another hot dog in order to put it on her stick. It fell into the mud. She sat back and crossed her arms, sulking slightly. "I give up. Who needs food anyway?"

"Take mine," Quatre offered.

The brunette shook her head. "I'm not taking your dinner, Quatre."

Quatre remained insistent. "I've already had one. You need to eat." Before Diana could protest again, he put the paper plate down in front of her.

"Quatre…"

"Diana, eat it."

"Well, um, thank you." Diana picked up the plate and began to eat reluctantly.

The three of them, upon nightfall, had built up a fire and had crowded around it, using it for light and a place to cook provisions. Trowa pitched the one tent where all three were expected to sleep and brought out sleeping bags. Evidently, he didn't think of the gender barrier and Diana's natural aversion to the great outdoors.

_'Not like he could have known,'_ Diana reminded herself calmly, removing her thin sweater to reveal a tank top underneath. The night failed to eliminate the warmth from the air, especially near the flames, and Diana figured she'd might as well be comfortable.

"Warm, Diana?" Trowa asked.

"That would appear obvious." Trowa looked Diana over and almost smiled; Quatre didn't get the joke.

That said, Diana walked over to the tent and pulled a sleeping bag out of it, dumping the bag just to the right of the entrance. "I'm sleeping here. You two can have the tent."

Quatre walked over to her. "You sure? I can tell you don't like it much out here. You can have the tent and we can sleep outside."

As before, Diana shook her head. "There's too much room in there for only one person. Besides, it's hot and maybe out here I'll catch a breeze." Noting a guilty look in Quatre's features, she added, "Don't feel bad. I'm okay with it. Really. Go on to bed."

As though the words set off a trigger, the Arabian yawned. "Come to think of it, I _am_ kind of tired. I feel as though I haven't slept in ages." A beat passed, and Diana thought that she had convinced him to let her be. "You're sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine. " Diana fought the tones of exasperation from her voice, since Quatre was only trying to be helpful. "Go catch up on your rest." With one last concerned glance, Quatre entered his tent.

Meanwhile, Trowa had extinguished the fire and approached the tent using a flashlight to light the way. Upon shining its beam onto Diana, his steps slowed. Soon, she felt his hand on her left shoulder, and her heart stopped in her chest. "T-Trowa?"

"Hold on a minute."

For the first time, Diana felt truly uncomfortable in Trowa's presence. She tried to shake his touch off. "No 'Hold on a minute's. What are you doing?"

"Looking."

"At what?" Diana whirled around, eyeing Trowa suspiciously. "You try anything, and you'll wish you never…"

"At your shoulder. There's something in it." Diana's eyes fell in embarrassment. "Turn back around. Diana did so, and Trowa began to poke and pick at the object. The Preventer remembered something striking her in the area of question during her frenzied escape from the hospital. Before she could tell that to Trowa, a sudden pain ripped through her shoulder.

"OW!! Careful, will ya?" Trowa's hands had pulled back, and, certain he had savagely torn the buried object from her body, Diana turned to face him. The confused look on his face caused her stomach to plummet. "What's wrong?"

Trowa showed empty hands. "It won't come out."


	7. Chapter Five

DBZ chick really? I thought it was better that way… oh well, hopefully you'll enjoy this chapter (I'm admitting to their affections now? You're getting to me -_-)… starcrest Wodahs does sound like it's from Star Wars, I'll admit it (though I didn't notice before you told me!)… there is a reason for the name, though. You'll see in a few more chapters… ladymars (or Sil, as the case may be) dread what is about to happen to Diana… you're right, she's in WAY too deep…

.

****

C H A P T E R 5

Despite the hard ground, the humidity, and the discovery concerning her shoulder, Diana slept like a log that night, without the nightmares that had haunted her since she took on the case. Terror took a lot out of a person, and she had had her fair share in the past twenty-four hours. By morning she felt fully rested and ready for any challenge ahead of her. She pulled herself out of the sleeping bag just after dawn, and the first thing she noticed was Trowa's figure by the fire. "How long have you been up?"

"Hours."

"How long did you sleep?" He shrugged, and Diana figured he didn't stay down long. "Keeping watch?" Trowa nodded. Diana walked over and sat down beside him. "What did you do to protect us while you slept?"

"I set a trap." Diana didn't want to know how said trap worked, or what it would have done to any being unfortunate enough to stumble into it. She had figured out his connection to Quatre the night before, and, from her understanding, Gundam pilots were capable of nearly everything.

Instead of dwelling on the idea, Diana began to slowly rub her left shoulder with her right hand. It didn't hurt or feel unusual in any way, but knowing something was embedded in her shoulder caused her to keep reaching up at it. In the span of a few seconds, she felt another hand push hers away and feel for itself, and Diana could feel Trowa's gaze burn into her shoulder. "Does it feel any different? Any pain?"

Diana's head shook a negative gesture, some hair falling in Trowa's way. "Nope." To get another look, Trowa brushed the hair aside. Then he took her arm and moved it up and down, testing the range of motion in her shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"Making sure it's not hitting a pressure point. Relax your arm." Diana relaxed, and Trowa rolled her shoulder forward, then back. After that, he cradled her arm in his hands, gently bending the joints in her arm and hand. The touch, though chaste, was somehow intimate, and Diana decided she like the feel of his hands on her skin.

The tent rustled behind them. "What's wrong with Diana's arm?" Quatre asked, causing Diana to start slightly. Trowa didn't bat an eyelash.

"Nothing. I'm just making sure she didn't hurt it on the way out of the hospital," Trowa answered quickly. "She's fine." Diana suddenly felt uneasy; Trowa didn't exactly lie, but he didn't tell the whole truth, either. _'Why are we hiding stuff from each other? Quatre deserves to know, right?'_

"Oh. Well, I'm glad to hear that you came out okay." Quatre smiled at her, and Diana felt even worse. She reached for her sweater and pulled it on, flinching; she could almost feel pain in her shoulder as her conscience scolded her for saying nothing.

* * * * * * * * * *

After returning home, showering, wasting ten minutes trying to see the pin in her shoulder, grabbing a quick breakfast, and dashing out the door, Diana somehow made it to work on time. Still chewing on the last mouthful of her muffin, she stumbled into the Preventers building at exactly 8:00am. Perfect.

Diana had barely taken two steps inside the building before Wu Fei grabbed her by the arm and yanked. "Your office. Now." Taken by surprise, she let him drag her the entire way there. He watched with his arms folded as she unlocked the door and let them both in.

As soon as the door closed behind him, Wu Fei exploded. "What possessed you to break Winner out of the hospital?"

Diana gaped at him. "Pardon?"

"You broke Winner out of the hospital," Wu Fei repeated, his voice hovering somewhere between rage and disapproval. "Do you realize you're now facing criminal charges and expulsion from the force? I want to know what whim caused you to do something that reckless."

Diana felt her own temper begin to flare, and she advanced on Wu Fei. "I did no such thing!"

"A doctor who works in the ward Winner was in identified you, Simen."

"That's bullshit! The ward Quatre was in doesn't exist!"

Wu Fei scoffed. "Simen, that is the most ridiculous—"

"And _I'm_ not the one who broke Quatre out of the hospital; Trowa is. I know you know him, because he said he's spoken with you. And the _reason_ he broke Quatre out is because there's a fucking _cult_ after Quatre, and now they're after me, and I'm a fugitive from the law for something _I didn't fucking do_ and… GOD DAMMIT!!" Diana crumbled into a chair, on the verge of sobbing.

Wu Fei just stared at the defeated young woman. Surely, she couldn't be the strong, proud investigator who wouldn't cry in the presence of another living being. He crouched next to her so he could get a better view of her face. "…Diana?"

Her tears flowed freely now. "I don't know what to do…" Intimidated by Diana's sudden vulnerability, Wu Fei hesitantly put a hand on her knee. Diana looked at him. "Tsohg, you promised you would help me… tell me what to do."

Wu Fei reared back. "Wu Fei," he corrected automatically, wondering what had overcome Diana all of a sudden.

Diana blinked at Wu Fei a couple times, and the crying stopped. "I'm proud that you know your name."

"You just called me Tsohg."

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did. You started crying and asked me what you should do, calling me Tsohg."

Diana pushed a lock of hair out of her face. "I wasn't—" She started to push the hair behind her ear, but stopped when she felt her cheek. After wiping her eyes, she looked down at the spent tears covering her hand. "…I was crying." She slumped forward, holding her head and sighing deeply. "I don't know. Everything's so screwed up. Quatre's messed up to the nines. He's blacked out and passed out and… was I ever underestimating when I thought it was simple hypnosis. Now, I'm losing it as well, apparently." She paused, then added under her breath, "And there was that whole thing with Trowa…"

"Barton? What about him?"

Diana snapped to attention. "Oh, nothing… I'm just thinking out loud." She stood, not eager to share that part of her experience with Wu Fei. "If I'm in as much shit as you say, then I need to get out of here." She crossed to the window and opened it, allowing the wind to tear through the room, then looked back at Wu Fei. "Will you cover? Tell them you never saw me."

"I will"

Diana smiled graciously. "Thank you." She climbed out of the window, hesitating on the fire escape outside it.

Wu Fei took advantage of the pause. He went to the window and stuck his head outside it. "Simen?"

"Hm?"

He made sure to have direct eye contact. "…Be careful."

Diana stood still for a few seconds, touched. Then she forced a smile and winked at her accomplice. "Aren't I always?" That said, she scrambled down the fire escape and into the shadows of a nearby alley. Wu Fei watched, one thought playing over and over in his mind.

Diana Simen had jumped blindly into waters she couldn't reach. And she didn't know how to swim.


	8. Chapter Six

Hey guys, I resurrected my muse!  ^.^

ladymars  okay, okay, I now officially eat my words… I'll be a faithful reviewer from now on, I promise…  starcrest thanks so much!  ^.^  I think so too… although, sadly, the hotel scene still stands, and things may be worse for Diana second time around (sniff)…  DBZ chick  you ARE rubbing off on me!  -_-()  Don't think I'm just throwing it in for the sake of romance, though.   I have my reasons…  Rina  more, you say?  Then more you shall have!  (after a whole bunch of procrastinating, that is -_-() )…  Kae-Kae  I hate you too, meanie!  ^.^  j/k… no, seriously, thanks for the wonderful compliments (although this story is MUCH farther from perfect than you say…)

Okay, I know I'm past my deadline (strict rewriting schedule… HA!).  However, this chapter marks the end of revision and the beginning of total-story-rehaul.  Characters are changing.  Names are changing.  Situations are changing.  Heero's on his way (Duo shows up in this chapter).  Just hang in there.  Please!

(and where is all the harassment I told you to give me if I slacked off?)

now, without further ado, the new and improved  Chapter 6…

****

**C H A P T E R 6**

"Hey there, hot stuff, wanna ride my pony?"  The man, obviously drunk, leered at Diana, his eyes wandering towards places where she didn't want him looking.  A gesture towards his crotch confirmed Diana's disgust, and she pushed him away while muttering some form of the word 'no.'  The drunkard, undeterred, simply moved in again and licked her sleeve, drenching it with his saliva.  "Well we better get you out of those wet clothes…" *

This time, she shoved him back full force.  "I said stay back, sicko!!"  The unwanted suitor fell backwards over a poorly placed coffee table, alerting the entire hotel lobby.  Most merely made a few comments or snickered before going back to his or her business, but one young man in particular was bothered by the incident.

He walked over to Diana and grabbed her arm, waving an apology to the mad she'd just attacked.  "Don't mind my friend here; she'd just a bit jumpy."  That said, he dragged her to a corner down the hall and stared her down with a pair of violet eyes.  "Do you _enjoy making a scene?  We're supposed to be here __incognito."_

_'We?'  Diana noticed a long brown braid trailing behind the young man; Trowa had given that as a distinguishing feature.  "So you're Duo Maxwell, then?"_

Duo brightened at the recognition.  "The one and only.  I may run and hide, but I'll never tell a lie."  He held out his hand.  "Nice to meet you."

Diana put her bag down and shook.  "Diana Simen.  I lie a lot."

He smiled, deciding he liked her dry sense of humor, and hoisted Diana's bag over his shoulder.  "Come on.  Quatre's waiting upstairs."

"I can carry my own stuff, you know."

"Yeah, but I got it."

Diana figured that it would be best not to make another scene, so she didn't say anything more of the issue.  Instead, she followed Duo up three flights of stairs and into a room.

Behind them, at a distance, the man who had ogled over Diana spoke softly into a communicator, far less drunk than he had pretended to be.

"I've found Leine.  She's with Wodahs and a certain 'Duo Maxwell'…"

* * * * * * * * * *

Trowa sat and waited.

Technically, he was a prisoner.  Upon his return to the order, the Sulegna rounded him up and accused him of treason.  Trowa couldn't argue the charges; he _had acted against the order.  After a formal accusation ceremony, which consisted of black-robed men chanting ancient curses in a dead language Trowa didn't recognize, a guard took him to a bare room and instructed him to await judgment.  That had been an hour ago, and since then Trowa had sat down on the only furniture in the room and scanned for an escape route._

He would use it when the time came for escape.

The door opened, and Trowa looked up to see the guard standing in the doorway.  The large man cleared his throat before speaking.  "The Kaivér wishes to hand down your judgment personally.  He shall come this way in a few minutes."  He paused uneasily, then added, "I will not blame you if you are dead the next time I open this door."  The guard left Trowa alone again.

Trowa knew two things about the Kaivér.  He was the head of the Sulegna, serving in place of Wodahs, and the majority of the Sulegna had never seen the man in person.  Apparently, judging from the guard's reaction, the order feared him as well.  Trowa figured he'd might as well stay long enough to meet the enigmatic Kaivér and learn anything he could about him.  Afterward, he's escape and forward the information to Duo.

The door opened again, and the guard peeked inside.  "Oh, you're still alive.  Braver than most, I guess.  Either that, or you're still too new to understand what you're in for."  He took a grand pause, causing Trowa to wonder if, in fact, the guard was actually _encouraging him to commit suicide.  Trowa made no move, so the guard continued.  "Your choice.  He's here."  The guard's head disappeared from the doorway, and was soon replaced by a small silhouette._

"Is this him?" a voice asked.

"Yes, it is," the guard answered.

"… Leave me alone with him."

"Yes, milord."  The door closed and a light flickered on, allowing Trowa to see the Kaivér in all his glory.

That is, all the glory a fifteen-year-old could carry.

The boy circled Trowa and examined every inch with dark brown eyes, brushing wisps of blond hair out of his face from time to time.  Trowa noted a familiarity in the Kaivér's features, and the Kaivér seemed to recognize something in Trowa.

Trowa to look at his captor.  "You're…"

"Before you say anything, I would like to remind you that you were fifteen once."  The Kaivér gave Trowa another once-over before commenting, "The resemblance is remarkable.  The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it?"

"What is that supposed to—?"  Trowa tried to stand, and found himself unable.  Heavy straps pinned his wrists, ankles, and waist to the chair.  "How did you—?"

"Even you can be surprised.  Amazing, considering your personality."  The Kaivér walked over to the wall and leaned on it casually.  "I'm well-trained in the Dark Arts, and, as any proper Sulegna should, am a master of silence and anonymity; better than even you, No Name."  He watched Trowa's defenses rise, amused.  "How did I know, right?  I know more about you than you'd care for me to know, perhaps even more than you know yourself."  The Kaivér left his post on the wall and began circling Trowa again, slowly.  "I know about your parents, your childhood, Midii…"  He stopped behind Trowa and looked down at him.  "What was that she gave you, a cross?"

"How did you learn this?" Trowa growled, otherwise powerless.

"I even know of your growing affections for the one who would be Leine… just like it happened before."

That caught Trowa off-guard.

A tense moment of silence followed, broken suddenly by a biting pain in Trowa' left shoulder.  "There.  You're marked," the Kaivér spat out curtly.  He quickly advanced to Trowa's front and grabbed the former pilot's head, placing his fingers along the temples.  "You've had a lapse of mind before, which makes my job easier."

Before Trowa had any time to react, a sharp shock ran through his mind, and he slumped over, unconscious.

* Sadly, I failed to dream this little pick up line myself.  Muchos kudos to A.G. and Coolsig, the source of some of the worst pick up lines out there.  ^.^


	9. Chapter Seven

starcrest  Next chapter's more the one you're waiting for if you're anticipating the darker part of the "hotel scene"… hopefully your computer will be back for you to read it… Kae Kae  I'm writing, I'm writing!!  There's only so much I do at once without completely losing my mind -.-()…  ladymars  yeah, well… I guess Sil just isn't allowed to read any more of this story (she'd have probably drawn a weapon on the 'drunk' guy!)… TrickyFrog  THANK YOU!  I'm so glad you like the new Kaivér.  He's quickly becoming one of my favorite new characters…  DBZChick_ (who had to email me her review b/c FFN screwed up… poor girl) you *would* make a wonderful supervisor, telling me what to do… I'm right on it, ma'am!  ^.^_

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**C H A P T E R 7**

Duo trumpeted into the hotel room full force.  "Hey, Quatre, I'm back with the Preventers girl!"

Diana followed two steps behind.  "Who has a name, might I add."

"Heh… okay, then.  I'm back with _Diana!  Happy now?"_

"That's better.  Now, where's Quatre?"

"Eh?  Um…"  Duo scanned the tiny hotel room, which could have passed for a large closet if racks of clothing had decorated the walls.  The only bed stood in the middle of the far right wall, facing toward the center of the room, and consequently got in the way if one wanted to cross to the other side.  Next to the bed was a nightstand, complete with an old telephone and a list of local restaurants that deliver.  After that was the far wall.  A small television set on a wide pine dresser rested across from the bed, further hindering any movement and leaving a mere two feet of walking space.  If one could manage the journey, on the other side sat a cheap brown lounge chair and the sink that, for some reason, was not included in the bathroom.  The bathroom, strangely enough, was not included in the room.  "Well, I guess he went to go take a shower down the hall.  He's been talking about doing that for the past hour."

"How are three people going to sleep in here?" Diana huffed after giving the room one good, long look.  "Couldn't you have gotten a double room or something?  A private bathroom would be nice too, but at least two beds…"

"Couldn't afford it.  Scavengers and circus clowns don't exactly make a lot of money, you know."  Smiling and patting Diana on the back, he added, "We'll figure something out with the sleeping arrangement; probably split it bed, chair, and floor.  We'll draw straws or something."

The door opened behind the pair, and Quatre slipped in while vigorously rubbing his head with a towel.  "I'm not sure I like these shared showers, although I have to admit I've dealt with worse conditions than these…"  Peeking from beneath the cloth, he noticed Diana.  "Oh, hello."  He held out a hand and smiled, the towel slumping onto the floor.  "I'm glad you got here okay."

"Me too."  Diana took Quatre's hand and squeezed it numbly.  "You have no idea."

Quatre smiled at her sadly, taking into consideration their present situation before answering, "Probably not."  He bent down to pick up the fallen towel.

Diana's arm stopped him.  "Hold on a sec."  She pulled him back up and squinted at the blond's neck, now curiously free of all signs of injury.  "How the hell did your neck heal up so fast?"

Quatre shrugged.  "I'm not sure.  It must have healed up during the time the Sulegna had me."  He rubbed his neck, and with a small smile added, "I can't really say that I mind.  It _hurt."_

"I had no idea that something was wrong," Duo put in.  "I mean, Trowa mentioned something, but…"  He cut himself off, noticing the Arabian's hair in disarray.  "Do something with that head, will ya?  It'll dry like that if you don't."  Quatre crawled across the bed to the mirror above the sink, found a comb, and began running it through his hair.  As soon as Quatre was sufficiently distracted, Duo leaned in and whispered the end of his sentence.  "But he seemed to be keeping something, which is weird for two reasons.  One, Trowa's a better liar than to be so obvious, and two, what the hell would he hide from _Quatre?  Anything happen out in those woods between those two that I should know about?  A fight or something?"_

"Nothing that I know of," Diana answered, keeping her voice equally low.  "Why don't you ask Quatre what's wrong?  He'd have a better idea than me."

"He doesn't want to upset me," Quatre answered from the mirror, causing both Diana and Duo to jump from surprise.  He turned to face them.  "I could hear every word of that conversation, you know."

Duo smiled, a hint of embarrassment shining through as he put an arm behind his head, scratching the back of his neck as he let out a tense chuckle.  "Okay, okay, sorry about that…  Well, since you heard, come join the conversation."  Quatre crossed over the bed again and sat down at the other end; Diana sat at his right and Duo took a seat by their feet on the floor.  "So, what happened between you and Trowa?"

"Nothing.  That's what bothers me."

"Nothing?" Duo echoed, sighing with exasperation.  "You two are great with answers, you know that?"  

Quatre shrugged slightly, a little guilty that he had no better answer.  "Nothing at all."

Thinking, Diana pulled her legs onto the bed and sat cross-legged, slouching forward and allowing her chin to sink into her hand as the conversation between Duo and Quatre continued.  "So, you're saying that he just started acting weird out of the blue?"

"Yes.  And it's not consistent."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Sometimes he seems secretive and guilty, and other times there appears to be nothing unusual about him at all.  I don't understand why, and I'm worried."

"Hm…"

Diana's eyes lit up with a theory, and she sat up.  "You think he might be blanking out like you've been, Quatre?"  Quatre and Duo looked at her quizzically.  "You said it was inconsistent; sometimes he's acting weird, sometimes not.  He might not even realize it's happening."

"I always knew that I had blacked out after the fact," Quatre countered gently.

"Well…"  Diana stood and walked around the bed toward the sink, not looking at the other two.  She looked down at her hands briefly before picking her head back up to speak.  "I didn't."

A thick blanket of silence filled the room until it was torn apart by Quatre's hushed voice.  "You, Diana?"

"Yeah, me.  I blanked out while talking to Wu Fei."  She hesitated, and then turned toward her audience.  "Apparently I started crying, begged him to help me, and called him Tsohg.  I don't remember it… but my conscious never skipped a beat.  It's like those thirty seconds never happened."

"Damn," Duo breathed, pulling himself to his feet and following Diana's arc to the sink.  "Listen, Trowa's supposed to call later, and we're going to exchange info and decide what we're doing from there.  Maybe this 'blanking out' thing'll change what we're going to do, maybe not.  Either way, it makes things a bit more critical."  He took Diana by the arm and guided her to sit back on the bed next to Quatre, sitting down as well.  "But until then, there's really nothing we can do.  He's our inside information, and we sure as hell can't fight what we don't know, right?"

Diana looked over at Quatre, who nodded gravely and added, "We just have to be careful until then."  Diana bobbed her head once to show her agreement.

Satisfied, Duo hopped up.  "All right then; that's settled.  Who's up for some dinner?"

* * * * * * * * * *

"How long has he been unconscious?"

"A few hours, I think."

"He must have really angered the lord Kaivér, to have received so much harm.  They say he won't remember anything when he comes to."

"You haven't heard?"

"Heard what?"

"This traitor… he's to be Rusaert."

"Rusaert?!  A _traitor like him... a member of His Divine Court?  Are you certain?"_

"I find it fitting enough.  Rusaert was a traitor to the order once himself, you know, being Leine's adulterous lover.  That's why Rusaert's memory was stripped… and this one's, too."

"Is that so?  Well, then, I suppose you're right."

_'These voices…'  The green eyed figure on the bed cracked open his eyelids, then quickly squeezed them shut against the burning light and whimpered a little, bringing an arm up over his face to further shield his eyes.  This movement caught the attention of the two attendants watching him._

"Go, get the lord Kaivér.  I'll talk to him until He gets here."  The other attendant left, and the first pulled his chair closer to the bed.  "Stay calm.  Nothing here will harm you."  Slowly, the bed-ridden captive opened his eyes again and turned to face the speaker.  "Introductions shall come later, but let me have the immense honor of saying this first to you:

"Welcome to the Order of Wodahs, Rusaert.  We are the Sulegna."


	10. Chapter Eight

Kae Kae  thanks for the positive reinforcement… dunno if Wu-man's gonna stand to all the abuse, though… ladymars  woah, didn't mean to piss her off!  *holds hands up in surrender*  Glad you liked the chapter, though… DBZ chick  I'm glad you're happy about it, because the characters aren't going to be… you should draw them, though *so honored ^.^*… starcrest thankies!  ^.^  glad you enjoyed the cliffhanger there…  amp84  well, the Spanish quiz is over, so I got myself together and did some writing for ya… hope you like what I have… Follelu  me?  Torture the readers?  _Never… *hides the reader that she has strapped to the rack and smiles innocently*  ^.^_

**C H A P T E R 8**

_The first thing Diana noticed was the darkness of a shadow looming to her left.  It didn't necessarily have any evil feel to it, but it reeked of the unknown and of dark mystic practices that dated back a couple thousand years.   Diana stood directly on the boundary between the shadow and the rest of the dreamscape, feeling the pull that threatened to suck her in and the gravity that kept her out.  She realized that everything around her hang in the balance, all depending on which way she swayed._

_In front of her stood Quatre.__  Periodically, the darkness would reach out from its apparent boundary and wrap around him, pulling the small blond closer.  But as it seemed ready to suck him in for good, it somehow lost its hold and left Quatre in confusion.  After each failed attempt by the darkness to ensnare its prey, Quatre would have some distinct change; a wound in his neck the first time, blood spilling from his left shoulder the second…_

_Suddenly, Diana reached up and felt over her own shoulder.  Her hands returned coated in blood, and she could almost hear Trowa's voice saying, "Looking… at your shoulder.  There's something in it."__  She stared at the crimson stain on her hands, fascinated._

_Trowa himself appeared then, walking over to Diana and taking her hand in one of his.  He looked her over briefly, stroking her face with the tenderness of a lover's touch, before gently pressing his lips to hers.  He gave her hand one last reassuring squeeze before he crossed into the darker half of the dreamscape, still holding Diana's hand as a lifeline.  Within an instant, a needle struck his left shoulder and he was torn from her grasp.  Diana could do nothing but watch, horrified and, suddenly, extremely lonely._

_In the meantime, Duo had come forward.  In his casual way, he slung an arm around Diana's shoulders and guided her away from the boundary and the shadows beyond it, smiling slightly.  "Don't worry, Diana.  I'll protect you from the big, bad Sulegna."  With a more serious tone, he added, "Not that you'll need much protecting.  You're a strong girl, right?"_

_Diana never got to answer.  At that precise instant a needle flew towards Duo._

* * * * * * * * * *

The brunette figure in the bed flew up suddenly, nearly causing Duo to tumble from his perch on the dresser next to the television set.  After righting himself, he noticed the violent tremors coursing through Diana's body as she sat curled up on the bed, so he hopped down and placed himself next to her.  "You okay?"

Diana raised a shaky hand to her forehead as she nodded slightly.  "I will be."  Duo didn't seem convinced.  She glanced at the clock, which read 2:46 am.  "How come you're still up?"

"Don't shrug this off.  What happened?  Why are you so worked up?"

"It's nothing… just some stupid dream."  Diana rose from the bed and crossed to the chair, where Quatre lay asleep.  "Nothing _real..."  She started looking Quatre over, then turned to Duo.  "Any reason you were sitting on the dresser at a quarter till three in the morning?"_

Duo sighed, conceding to the fact that, no matter how bothered she really was, Diana wasn't about to admit to anything amiss.  "When Trowa said he'd call later, he meant _later.  I'm starting to worry about him."_

"He isn't calling."

"Eh?"

Duo went ignored as Diana reached into the collar of Quatre's nightshirt, feeling for his left shoulder.  She felt the pin there, same as her.  "Dear Lord, it was true…"

"_What was true?  Diana, what the hell are you talking about?"_

Diana shook her head gently and turned to face Duo.  "I… I… had a dream, that's all."

"That's bullshit!" Duo rose and crosses the room to confront her directly.  "You don't seem like the type to be so shaken up by a stupid dream if you didn't think there was anything meant by it.  Tell me what's wrong with you all of the sudden!"

"There's nothing wrong!"

"Then stop acting like there _is!"_

Tense silence followed before Diana walked around Duo and picked up a small black messenger bag.  From it, she produced a voice recorder, a pad, some papers, and a pen.  She whispered into the recorder as the pen flew across the paper.  Duo thought he heard the words 'item: dream number five,' but he couldn't be sure.  At length, after Diana had stopped with the recorder, Duo asked, "What are you doing?"

"I haven't updated my case files for awhile."

Duo sat down across from her, looking over the case files spread across the bed.  "This is still just a case to you?"

"No, but I need regularity."  She put the pad down and sighed heavily, leaning her head back against the bed's headboard.  "This isn't a Preventers' case anymore… it stopped being that yesterday.  I hate to put it into such terms, but this is a battle for Quatre… hell, for all of us."  She looked back at Duo.  "And our opponent is some screwy cult that's miles ahead of us, almost like they know our moves before they make them.  To make things even worse, we know _nothing about them.  As we stand now, we're sitting ducks."_

"We'll remain that way as long as you keep that attitude.  I may not be the smartest person, but I know that much."  He picked up a stack of paper and moved it aside, scooting forward to address her more closely.  "Listen, I've dealt with odds this bad.  Quatre's dealt with odds this bad, and Trowa, too.  We used to fight losing battles all the time.  And we got out with our heads."

"Did you expect to?"

Duo hesitated.  "…That's not the point."

"Didn't think so."

"Okay, so we expected failure.  We didn't give up."

"Who said anything about giving up?"  Diana got off of the bed and walked to the sink, running some water while looking for a washcloth.  Finding one, she placed it in the sink under the water flow and turned back to Duo.  "I'm just being realistic.  Sure, you've fought your battles, but—and correct me if I'm wrong—you've never fought anything quite like this before.  And I, an investigator who gathers facts and makes heads or tails of them, have never dealt with something like this.  The Sulegna are familiar with us all and are pretty damn good at using it to their advantage.  Our strengths are not adding up to theirs."

Before Duo could respond, a cry cut through the sanctified quiet that the two's conversation had preserved.

"_LEINE!!"_

Quatre's howl caught them off-guard, and he took advantage of that fact to advance on Diana, seizing her wrist and bending it awkwardly.  "What the hell are you doing, Quatre!!" Diana screamed at him, wincing as he proceeded to twist her wrist further in the wrong direction.

"I know about you and Rusaert, Leine.  I saw you together!"  Quatre shoved Diana back into the wall, forcing an involuntary yelp of pain out of her.  "I _saw him fuck you!  You __let him fuck you!!"  He held her firmly in place, grabbing her other wrist and pinning her against the wall with his body.  "You did, didn't you… __didn't you?!"_

Diana tried to push Quatre away, to no avail.  "I don't know who the fuck you're talking about," she spat.  "Rusaert who?!"  _'Trowa…'  Her mind suddenly fell back onto the dream, and she realized another chapter of Leine and Wodahs' story.  __'Rusaert and Leine… Trowa and I…' _

Quatre kicked her in the side of her leg, holding her up by the wrists when her knees buckled beneath her.  "Don't ask stupid questions, Leine.  I want a confession.  Did you or no?"

"I never slept with Trowa."  She realized her mistake as soon as the name left her lips.

Infuriated, Quatre flung her to the floor, and, again, Diana cried out from the blow.  "Trowa, now?!  Who else, Leine?"  Diana said nothing, not wanting incriminate herself any further in his mind.  Rage danced in Quatre's eyes as he began to advance on her.  "_Tell me."_

Duo jumped in to Diana's rescue.  "Dammit, Quatre, what's gotten into you!"  He pulled on Quatre's shoulders, trying to pull him away from Diana.  Quatre whirled around and struck Duo in the face, nearly knocking him to the floor.

"Xaniel, stay out of this."

Duo steadied himself and glowered at Quatre.  "I don't know who you think you're talking to, buddy, but I'm not Xaniel."  Duo cracked his knuckles.  "Now, I'm going to regret this, but…"  Duo threw a punch, but Quatre dodged it and slammed his hand into Duo's shoulder, hitting a pressure point and knocking him out.  Within seconds, the braided American was pulled away by a group of Sulegna who appeared out of the shadows of the room.

Duo's attack, no matter how fleeting, had distracted Quatre enough to allow Diana to strike him herself.  She lifted the lamp from the nightstand beside her and let it crash down on the blond's head.  In the time that Quatre needed to recover from the blow, Diana grabbed her case files, leapt over the bed, and dashed out of the room and down the hall, needing to get as far away from Quatre and the other Sulegna as she could.  As she ran, the pathway out of the hotel seemed endless, and Diana cursed the fact that the room was so far away from the nearest stairway.  A couple meters short of her destination, however, she realized that she had left Duo behind and stopped, intending on turning back to help him.

That was when he caught her.

Duo jumped out from the closet that she had paused in front of and pulled her inside, wrapping a short rope around her throat to cut off her breathing.  Diana tried to fight back against Duo's hold, but his grip was uncharacteristically strong, and she found it harder and harder to fight as her body begged for the air he denied her.

She couldn't keep track of the time in her desperation; minutes seemed like hours, and, finally, Quatre entered with his Sulegna guard.  _'Not Quatre… not anymore.  He's Wodahs__ now…' she reminded herself, giving the rope around her neck one last weak tug.  Quatre nodded at Duo, and the rope was released._

Diana put her hands on her knees and doubled over to catch her breath.  Slowly, her gaze rose from the floor to the Sulegna, who had now filled the room on all sides.  Her eyes fell on Quatre's and glared.

Quatre, unlike the flaring temper he exhibited before, remained calm; after all, he was in power now.  "What do you have to say for yourself now, Leine?"

With slow, calculated movements, Diana stood up straight and held her head high.  He couldn't scare her, no matter how hard he tried.  "I have nothing to say, milord, except that you are an asshole."

A Sulegna started in on her, preparing to make true an unspoken threat of punishment, but Quatre held up an arm to protest.  The Sulegna backed off, and the blond wandered over to her and crossed his arms over his chest, staring smugly at her.  "One more chance.  What do you have to say?"

Diana spat in his face.

Quatre reared back, horrified and offended, and nodded decisively to the Sulegna behind Diana.  Before she knew what was happening, two of them grabbed Diana, each seizing one arm, and pulled her down to the floor.  Diana tried to pull her arms away, kicking and screaming, "Let me go!  Let me the _fuck go!!!"  Then Diana caught sight of Quatre in front of her and froze._

He was removing his pants.

_'Oh shit…  Oh God, not this…'  He climbed on top of her and grabbed her hair, yelling something into her ear.  The words never registered; they were lost somewhere in the abyss that her mind was quickly becoming as she tried to numb herself to the inevitable.  Even so, she couldn't avoid the one sensation she wanted to lose most… the __feel.  She __felt him thrusting in and out of her, she __felt him hit her, she __felt the bruising grip of the guards as they pinned her to the floor, she __felt the anger and shame rising within her, she __felt…_

He wanted her to cry, to give in.  Surely, it wouldn't have lasted so long if she had.  But she didn't; she couldn't… no matter what, she wasn't going to let him break her.  She couldn't give him the satisfaction of hearing her fear, her pain… so she squeezed her eyes shut, praying to wake up from this nightmare.  Her dreams, after all, felt so real… this was one of them.  It _had to be one of them…_

She felt him come inside of her and almost vomited.  In the midst of her disgust, she almost missed the one feeling that apologized for everything: a single tear splashing onto her face.  Her eyes flew open, and, for the briefest instant, she saw _Quatre in those aquamarine eyes, now haunted with guilt.  Diana closed her eyes again and turned away, unable to look at him, not wanting to see Quatre disappear within Wodahs again.  Within that moment, he got off of her, and the guards who held her down throughout the experience now forced her to sit up._

Diana didn't know what Wodahs used to slit her wrist; she only felt the sharp edge tear across her skin and heard him whisper.  "Stay, and we'll send people back here for you.  You'll survive."  With that, Diana was dropped to the floor and abandoned in the closet.

Trembling uncontrollably, Diana curled up into the fetal position on the floor, not bothering to open her eyes.  She didn't want to see reality; she couldn't handle it, not now.  In order to keep herself from bleeding to death, she pressed her wounded arm to her stomach.  Again, she swallowed the urge to vomit as she wallowed in pain and self-disgust.  _'I… I…'_

The door flew open, and it took all that Diana had to keep from screaming.  In the doorway stood a man about her age with unruly brown hair and cobalt blue eyes staring down at her.  She couldn't read his expression or intentions, but something unexplained inside her recognized him.  Diana surrendered to the other consciousness, eager to escape her own, and gazed up at the stranger with pleading eyes as her vision began to fade around the edges.

"Tirips…"  The world went black.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

*hugging Diana and Quatre to her*  I'm so sorry I made you two _do that…_

DIANA & QUATRE:  *blue from lack of air*


	11. Chapter Nine

Kae Kae  lmao… took me long enough to reveal Tirips to the masses, though.  Glad you enjoy your 'insider privileges' though… ladymars  UNlike me is pretty close to understatement.  Almost wish I DIDN'T have it in me (it was that depressing to write)… starcrest a nosebleed, eh?  I didn't know I was _that good…  DBZ chick  I MISS YOU TOO!  *huggles*  And thanks so much for the wonderful picture… describes all too well what I felt… Majin-Veg   ^.^;;; that was a fine review, don't worry.  And thanks…  Angel02  I know, I know… the ends justify the means, I guess?  Oh well…_

OH!  There's _Falls the Shadow_ fanart now!  ^.^  Check it out here, by the ever-wonderful DBZ chick:

http://www.mediaminer.org/fanart/view.php?id=98954

**C H A P T E R 9**

_Again, Diana found herself lost in the dreamscape.  This time, there was no one else, only her._

_Sighing softly as she examined the familiar whereabouts, she slowly wandered toward the invisible barrier within her mind, the gateway to whatever goal the Sulegna had set before her.  She wrapped her arms around herself and stared into the empty void.  _'Beyond here is where everything comes from… where everything started,'_ she thought, not without a bitter twinge passing through her heart.  Furrowing her brow, she reached out to put her hand on the barrier, watching her own movements intently.  
"That's transparent, you know, and you don't want to end up on the other side like the rest of us."_

_"Duo?"__  Diana's head snapped upward to see the braided American standing before her._

_"The one and only…"  There was no joy in his voice, and he looked her over sadly.  "You're bleeding."  
Diana looked away awkwardly, trying to keep her anger and despair in check as reality washed over her once more.  She hadn't realized that her wounds followed her; she felt nothing.  "I don't care."_

_Duo sighed.  "I wish I could have done something…"  
"You watched," Diana spat, turning back to glare at him.  "You fucking watched him do it… never tell a lie, huh?  You said you'd protect me."_

_"I… I didn't count on become a pawn," Duo answered softly, Diana's words cutting deep inside with their malicious intent.  "I didn't…"_

_"I don't want to hear it."  She turned to walk away._

_"Diana, wait!"  Slowly, Diana turned and looked at him scornfully.  "Listen, I have something to tell you.  Like you said before this whole incident, we're sitting ducks unless we… unless _you_ get some clue pointing you in the right direction, and I've got some to give you:_

_"The first is Behind, Within, and After you… the second is this."  He held up a book, its cover so worn Diana couldn't read the title.  "I can't give it to you now, but you'll come across it.  And, finally, the third clue is not a number, but a concept."_

_Diana raised an eyebrow and scoffed a little.  "A little cryptic, don't you think?"  
"Don't blame me… I'm just your subconscious, you know."  Diana gasped slightly, getting ready to inquire further when Duo added, "Take care; fight back," and vanished._

_And so Diana sat on the cold floor, curling her legs to her chest, never before feeling so isolated… so alone._

* * * * * * * * * *

The doorbell rang.  Twice.

And Wu Fei growled in his bed.

Sally had already kicked off the covers and crawled out of bed.  She stretched her limps out a little and then looked down at Wu Fei.  "I'm answering the door.  Are you coming, or are you staying?"

Wu Fei grumbled and sat up, tossing the bed sheets aside.  He was already awake, so he'd might as well go to the door with her.  That way he could either give the person at the door a piece of his mind, or he could protect Sally if something should be amiss.  Not that she necessarily needed protecting, but he felt better being there, just in case.

The doorbell chimed for a third time as Sally unlocked and unchained the door.  Wu Fei crossed his arms over his chest and remained a few feet behind her.  "I wonder who's so desperate to see us at this hour?" she mused.  "It's only four o'clock."  She opened the door a crack and peeked outside, doing a double-take when she saw the man on her doorstep.  "Heero?"

"_Yuy_?" Wu Fei echoed, going to the door himself to see if Heero was really there.  "What are you doing…?"  His eyes fell to the blanketed body in Heero's arms.  "Who is that?"  
"I'll tell you everything inside."

The two occupants of the house each looked at the other, then at Heero.  Sally opened the door the rest of the way and stepped aside, and Wu Fei did the same.  Heero carried the body inside and toward the far end of the room, and Sally shut and locked the door as Wu Fei followed Heero.  "Now, who is that?  Don't you realize whoever that is is probably half-smothered by now, with that heavy blanket and this heat?"

"Move the blanket aside, then," Heero answered simply.

Wu Fei sighed, agitated, as he reached over and removed the blankets from the figure's face.  He started as he realized who was beneath them.  "Simen?" he breathed, running a hand over her bruised cheek in silent awe.

Heero nodded slightly, then turned to Sally.  "She still has a few wounds I haven't treated.  I didn't want to violate her modesty any more than it already has been."

Sally took a few extra seconds to respond as the implications of Heero's statement sunk in.  "Bring her this way, then."  She led Heero out of the room and to a bathroom, with Wu Fei following several paces behind.  Upon arrival, she flipped on a light and opened a cabinet, pulling out several towels and a washcloth.  "Lay her in the tub."  
With a nod, Heero complied and gently put Diana's comatose figure in the bathtub.  Sally knelt down on the floor beside him and gently removed the blankets.  What she found beneath them was an obviously beaten and ravished woman with a heavily bandaged right arm.  "I see what you meant."  Sally gently took Diana's right hand and lifted her arm up, inspecting the bandages.  "What happened here?"

"Sharp edge of a porcelain shard."

Sally looked up at the former Gundam pilot.  "The rest of it?  _Who_ did it?"

"He calls himself Wodahs."

"Meaning it was Winner in body."  Sally started slightly from surprise, turning to find Wu Fei standing in the doorframe, until that point quietly observing the scene before him.  Heero, on the other hand, didn't bat an eyelash.

"So you know about the Sulegna."  Wu Fei nodded slowly in agreement.  "They're after her, and it's only a matter of time before they seek us out as well.  They mean to exterminate us."

"Simen too?" Wu Fei cut in.

"No," Heero answered.  "They plan to use her like they're using Quatre.  They mean to resurrect their dying order."  He turned and left the room, stopping just after he passed Wu Fei and looking back at Sally.  "Take care of her quickly; we need to leave."  

Heero turned his gaze on Wu Fei, catching the Chinese man's eye.  Several seconds passed as each sized the other up, waiting for the other to falter.  Last they had met had been uncomfortable terms, and the feeling had carried over.  Finally they reached a silent consensus; current circumstances had put the past aside for the moment.  Wu Fei gave Heero another nod, and the two left to gather the necessary provisions for the days to come.

* * * * * * * * * *

_'I hear voices…  Are they real?'_

_They are… those are the voices that matter.  You are in their hands now._

_'Who…?'_

_I am you, and you are me.  We share everything but our lifetimes._

_'What…?'_

_'Do not worry yourself with me.  Rest… rest and heal._

_It is upon you this all depends._


End file.
